HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-05-25 Commissioner Minutes THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017
The Franklin County Commissioners met Thursday, May 25, 2017, with the
following members present: David S. Keller, Robert L. Thomas and Robert G.
Ziobrowski. Chairman Keller presided and after calling the meeting to order, a Moment
of Silence, and the Pledge of Allegiance, proceeded with the business of the day.
On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski;
unanimously approved to adopt the agenda.
There was no public comment.
On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski;
unanimously approved all bills presented and ordered paid.
On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski;
unanimously approved the minutes of the May 18, 2017 meeting.
The Board reviewed Aging Office matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas,
seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the agreement between the
County of Franklin and Susquehanna Door Service to provide maintenance and service
to the handicap service door at the Chambersburg Senior Activity Center at a cost of
$320.00, for the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, covered by the Aging
Block Grant.
The Board reviewed Commissioners matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Keystone Grant
Agreement between the County of Franklin and PA Department of Education, in the
amount of $306,900.00, to be used for the fit-out of the newly renovated facility at the
Coyle Free Library, including installation of necessary equipment and furnishings. Also
included with the Grant agreement is a Cooperation and Indemnification Agreement that
sets forth an indemnification agreement between the County and the library as it relates
to the Keystone Communities Grant. Because the County is the grantee, it is required
to follow certain mandates from the state. This agreement provides the county with
indemnification should the library fail to follow said requirements. It also sets forth terms
of cooperation between the parties to allow the county to review the bid process and
any other requirements of the grant that are performed by the library.
The Board reviewed Court Administration matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Supplemental
Appropriation in the amount of$63,922.00 to budget for revenue and purchases from the
AOPC grant.
The Board reviewed Information Technology Services matters. On a motion by
Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the
agreement between the County of Franklin and Candoris for maintenance support and
licensing for VMWare at a cost of$18,308.40, for the period of June 23, 2017 through
June 22, 2020. The VMWare product allows utilization of virtual servers.
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The Board reviewed Jail Diversion/DRC matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the amendment to
the original agreement (dated May 8, 2017) between the County of Franklin and the
Mental Health Association of Franklin and Fulton Counties to provide peer support
services for the Jail Diversion program to increase the maximum encumbrance to
$7,000.00. All other terms and conditions of the original agreement will remain in full
force and effect.
The Board reviewed Juvenile Probation matters. On a motion by Robert L.
Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the agreement
between the County of Franklin and Waynesboro School District for the School-Based
Probation Program. The school district agrees to provide $17,895.92 for services during
the 2017-2018 school year. Franklin County will carry liability insurance for its employee
and the program.
In accordance with PA Acts 14, 67, 68 and 127 notifications, William A. Brindle
Associates, Inc. notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection NPDES Permit application being applied by BDR Real Estate Services for
land development for a self-storage complex along South Main Street, located in the
Borough of Chambersburg.
In accordance with PA Acts 14, 67, 68 and 127 notifications, Dennis E. Black
Engineering, Inc. notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection NPDES Permit application being applied by John and Rachel Randolph for
the construction of a single family home on lot 11 of the Frederick Seibert Subdivision,
located in Antrim Township.
In accordance with PA Acts 14, 67, 68 and 127 notifications, Dennis E. Black
Engineering, Inc. notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection NPDES Permit application being applied by Velocity Partners LLC for the
construction of residential townhomes between Orchard Drive West and Route 11,
located in the Borough of Chambersburg.
Shalom Black, Grants Director, and a few members from the Human Services
Block Grant Committee conducted a public hearing on the Human Services Block Grant
for 2017/2018. Ms. Black explained that this is the second public hearing for the Human
Services Block Grant; the first one occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The State requires
two public hearings. This is year six of the block grant and the Committee has learned a
lot about the block grant process over the past five years, including the flexibility it
affords. She explained the first year the counties were faced with 10% cuts to Human
Services from the State that have not been restored. She explained some of the
changes the State made this year, which includes removing Children & Youth special
grants, providing the flexibility to roll over 5% instead of 3%, and opening the block grant
to any county in the state that wishes to participate. As a result, five more counties
opted into the block grant process. Ms. Black explained the reallocations are $633,398
over the first five years and this year we currently have $147,000 to roll over into next
state fiscal year. Ms. Black said these hearings were made public on the website and
the local newspaper with 10 days advance notice. The Committee did not receive any
public comment at the first public hearing but the Planning Committee did discuss
concerns and clarified program information. Steve Nevada, Assistant County
Administrator, thanked everyone in attendance and the Commissioners for their support.
Mr. Nevada introduced the committee members in attendance. He explained the
following highlights of the block grant funding: the Mental Health Co-Responder model
which works with individuals with mental health or disability needs who come into
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contact with law enforcement; Crisis intervention where staff from Intellectual Disabilities
works with staff from Mental Health to provide training; Mental Health First Aid which has
trained over 300 people; Evidenced-based practices in treating trauma; Franklin County
Older Adult Advocacy Team which is needed due to seeing more older adults with
mental health issues, dementia and other aging issues; Forensic mental health case
management services where services are starting for the inmates in jail or a state
correctional institute before being released and continuing contact with them in the
community. There is a new section on housing and using some block grant funds for
family housing since there is a great need in this area and most housing is targeting
individuals instead of families; Employee First, which is community-integrated
employment that has a transition into adult life succession program, and working with
young adults with disabilities to get job training and assessments before they graduate;
Post employment vocational trainings where the goal is to increase employment; Day
programs for Intellectual Disabilities and Life Sharing where there will be some federal
mandated changes to the program. Commissioner Thomas asked about life sharing and
where most housing is for single individuals. He said living alone is a challenge and
asked if there has been any research on communal living. Mr. Nevada responded that
they know isolation is not good for anyone but the single housing he was talking about is
HUD housing which has federal regulations. Commissioner Thomas suggested
reaching out to them to advise them that there is something wrong with their model.
Chairman Keller said that the MH/ID Advisory Board in the past discussed spinning
MH/ID as a nonprofit but decided not to. He said the Board also discussed contracting
out case management which they decided to do and the Commonwealth also suggested
contracting out as well. He feels the decisions have resulted in better public service and
has made the staff able to make improvements at the systems level, making their jobs
more rewarding as well as improving services in these areas.
April Brown, Drug & Alcohol Director, explained the following block grant funding
for substance abuse programs: Treatment is 44% of the total budget; intervention
makes up 10% of the overall budget; Operation Save-A-Life and naloxone training in the
community; Be RX Smart Campaign which is for proper medication management and
proper storage and disposal of medications; Psycho-education for individuals that have
DUI's to help them make better decisions and improve their skills and education;
Prevention makes up 9% of the total allocation. School based and community based
prevention outcomes are good and schools are receptive to these programs; Recovery
support services and recovery housing to allocate resources to support the need for peer
support and to continue supports through treatment is 20-21% of allocation; There are
new programs about narcan education and having pharmacies stock narcan in Franklin
County. A huge addition to the plan this year is a warm handoff process for overdose
survivors. Commissioner Thomas mentioned a Drug Task Force Review that the
Commissioners attended yesterday and the Coroner reported that in 2016 there were 46
deaths of which 20 were related to fentanyl deaths and they reported that this year was
going to set a new record but early indications are it's starting to go down. He said
narcan is the first step and a chance to survive to fix this problem. Commissioner
Thomas said that police track narcan uses but what is not tracked is how many are used
by Advanced Life Support. Ms. Brown said that they are in the process of working with
EMS to get these numbers. She said there are barriers because of privacy issues.
Shalom Black explained the Homeless Assistance Services (HAP) that South
Central Community Action Program (SCAAP) operates and it does include rental
assistance for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Case
Management is a part of this and a small portion of the allocation goes towards the
Franklin County Homeless Shelter who is coordinating this service. She explained that
Megan Shreve called recently that they are out of funds for the year. Commissioner
Ziobrowski brought up that the proposed state budget has cut these funds significantly.
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Ms. Black explained that there is great concern at SCAAP and all shelters about funding
and even cuts in the federal budget could be devastating. She suggested having further
conversations about what we can do to help them. Ms. Black wanted to acknowledge
Manny Diaz who passed away recently and was a faithful block grant planning member
from the beginning who had a big impact on the community and the programs. They
wanted to thank him for his service and his impact to the community.
Steve Nevada was asked by Block Grant Planning Committee member Shelly
Schwartz to mention the data warehouse that the Block Grant Committee is looking at
allocating funds to. Staff is on board and working hard on finalizing agreements to have
in place to move forward with a data warehouse program. The committee did include
some block grant money in the past for software. Mr. Schwartz commented that we
need to find out if we are doing things right or wrong and this data warehouse will give
us data we need to make sure we are doing the right thing. He said the Governor keeps
cutting so we need this information to help let them know where our needs are and set
the priorities for the neediest in the community.
Chairman Keller asked for public comments since this is a public hearing. There
were no public comments. The Commissioners thanked everyone and will anticipate
formal action on the agenda for next Thursday.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:33 a.m. with a motion by Robert L. Thomas;
seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski.
FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS